Srinagar, August 31 (KNO) : At a time when communication system across Kashmir is defunct, people are thronging the Kashmir’s General Post Office (GPO) located at the Bund here at Abi Guzar area of Srinagar to send letters to their dear ones outside Jammu and Kashmir and foreign countries including Saudi Arab.
In the wake of revocation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of State into two Union Territories—J&K and Ladakh on August 5, people whose relations are outside J&K and foreign countries including Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
“The communication gag triggered panic in our family. We were not able to contact with our son and daughter- in -law who are settled in New Delhi. They had been trying hard to get in touch with us, but to no avail,” Lateef Ahmed Mir, a resident of Dalgate told Kashmir News Observer (KNO).
He said that they sent a registered post to their Son and daughter-in law through a registered post from Post office, which reached them on August 22. “On September 1, we received their reply through a registered letter handed over to us by a post man. It was a happiest moment of our life,” Mir told KNO.
Similarly, a newly couple who got married in Kashmir’s Pampore area left for Saudi Arabia on August 17 and they were not a able to inform their family that they reached safely. “We tried our best to reach out to our children but to no avail. My son had been trying his best to contact us but he failed. He had even called the concerned police station in Pampore but every time the all was getting dropped,” Muhammad Ramzan Rather told KNO. He said all of a sudden they received a letter through a registered post to which we replied through a letter from post office.
“We are very hopeful that the letter will reach them and they will revert as well through same means,” Rather said. Post office was considered as an outdated means of communication but due to the communication gag , the GPO is a living hope for thousands of people whose relatives are living or settled outside the State or within the state.
“We have received a lot of people who were desperate to communicate with their dear ones living outside J&k and also in the foreign countries. Our staff continues to treat people all with full honour, in a friendly manner and all are satisfied with the system put in place by us to exchange letters,” a senior official told KNO, wishing not to be named.(KNO)